CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Just hours after being named the Atlantic Sun Newcomer of the Week, Lipscomb center Stephen Hurt carried the Bisons to an 87-84 nonconference win over Austin Peay with a 23-point, 18 rebound performance at the Dunn Center in Clarksville on Tuesday night.

“Stephen was unbelievable,” said Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson. “He got two fouls in the first half and only played 10 minutes but that’s the kind of presence he can be. He’s a big-time threat.

“I can’t be any more proud of our group of guys to hang in there and hang in there. Besides Gardner Webb we haven’t done a good job of fighting through adversity or executing. I thought down the stretch we executed unbelievably and got the shots we wanted to get.”

Down by 12, 84-72, with just 3:09 to play, the Bisons (5-5, 0-0 A-Sun) used a 15-0 run to cap off a furious comeback over the Governors (4-7, 0-0 OVC). Sophomore forward Martin Smith, who finished with 19 points, got the run started with an old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the lead to single digits.

A pair of free throws from junior guard Khion Sankey then made it an 84-77 game before a dunk by Hurt made it a two-possession game. The Bisons then got back-to-back layups by sophomore guard Carter Sanderson and Smith to pull within one point of the lead.

Clarksville native Malcolm Smith would give the Bisons the final lead of the night with 1:02 remaining when he laid the ball off the glass on a baseline cut with a feed from Hurt. Twin brother Martin Smith then capped off the comeback with a two-hand jam with six seconds remaining to seal the victory.

Along with Hurt’s 23 and Martin Smith’s 19, Sankey added a baker’s dozen to go with Malcolm Smith’s 12 and Sanderson’s 10 to give all five Lipscomb starters double figures. Sankey also added a season high seven assists.

Austin Peay’s Anthony Campbell led all scorers with a 25-point night on 9-of-17 shooting from the field in the Govs loss.

Playing in front of their hometown crowd, the Smith twins were a big part of the win for the Bisons.

“It was awesome (for friends and family) to see a game like this,” said Martin Smith. “I think we both played pretty well and our team got the win. That’s the most important thing.”

Thanks to Hurt’s 18 rebounds that were tops in the nation on Tuesday night and the second most for a Lipscomb player in the NCAA Division I era, the Bisons won the battle of the boards 43-34.

“We did a great job on the backboard and only turned the ball over seven times in the second half,” said Sanderson. “In the last two days of practice we worked a lot on half-court, offensive execution. Then we come out tonight out of the timeout with 1:15 to play and ran a set play and Malcolm got a layup under the bucket which was a big play for us.”

Lipscomb’s win is the fourth-straight in the series as the Bisons improve to 4-0 all-time in the NCAA Division I era against Austin Peay.

The Bisons continue road action on Thursday night at Memphis wrapping up the nonconference slate. The 7 p.m. contest is scheduled to air on Fox SportsSouth and can also be heard on 102.5 The Game.